Migration, Development and Gender in Morocco
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Migration,DevelopmentandGenderinMorocco MohaEnnaji UniversityofFes,Morocco 1.Introduction Moroccan males migrate from rural and urban areas to Europe, mainly France, Spain, Belgium, Germany, and Holland. The genesis of this migration showst hatthisitisarecentphenomenon(Lapeyronni1992,Berradaetal,1994, Chattou1998).ThefirstwavesofmigrantsleftMoroccointhe1950sand1960s; thenmigrationtoWesternEuropeincreasedinthe1970sand1980s.Inthe1950s, 1960s,and1970s,le galandillegalmigrationco -existedandweretoleratedas Europe needed manpower (Chattou 1998). Consequently, the first waves of migrantsrelativelysucceededtoimprovetheirstandardsoflivingandtakecare oftheirfamiliesinbothMoroccoandtheh ostcountries.However,fromthemid - 1980s onward, the increase in migration was counterbalanced by the implementationofthevisaandtheShengenagreementwhichreinforcedcontrol onmigrantsfromMoroccotoEurope.Thisresultedinthespreadofnewfo rmsof illegalmigration. The extent of present-day male migration from Morocco to Europe is difficulttomeasuregivenitsillegalside.Statisticsshowthatthemajorityofthese migrantsarenotaccompaniedbytheirfamilies(seeHamdouchetal,1981). The causes of migration have witnessed an evolution since the 1960s and 1970s: whereasthefirstwavesofmigrantswereinsearchofabetterincome,present- daymigrantsaregenerallyunemployedandleaveMoroccoinsearchofjobs.The change in the cau ses of migration reflects concomitant changes in the socio - economicstructuresofMoroccoandthehostcountries. Thedurationofmigrationhasalsowitnessedchange:whereasmigrantsof thefirstwavesstayedlongerinthehostcountries,present-daymig rantsstayfor shorter times given the non-availability of full -time jobs (Chattou 1998). This resultedinmorefrequentvisitstothenativecountry(anaverageofonevisitper year according to Hamdouch et al, 1981). A portion of migrants return (see Ha mdouchetal1981);thisfactrevealsthenon-integrationofthesemigrantsin theEuropeanenvironmentandtheirattachmenttotheircountryoforigin.Thisis concordantwiththefactthatmigrantsleavetheirfamiliesbehind1. Themajorcausesofmigr ationareunemploymentandpoverty.According torecentofficialstatistics,theoverallunemploymentrateinMoroccois14.5%2. Despite Morocco’s overall economic progress, poverty is on the increase as a result of globalization. In the eyes of migrants, the proximity of a prosperous Europe3makesthedreamofovercomingpovertypossibletorealize. This paper aims at analyzing the impact of migration on Moroccan women.Thechoiceofthistopicisdictatedbythreemajorreasons.First,thereis ascarci tyofsocialstudiesontheoveralleconomicandsocialsituationofrural andurbanwomenwhosemalebreadwinnershavemigrated.Mostoftherelevant studies in Morocco are general in nature. Second, rare is research on the schooling of children whose fa thers have migrated. Third, there is need for enhancingresearchonthesocialroleofwomeninpresent-dayMorocco,aswell as for sensitizing ordinary people, intellectuals, and decision-makers to this crucialrole. 1 Therearemigrantswhoareintellectualsand“cadres”,someofwhomarewell -offbut migratebecaus etheyfindMoroccoratherunderdevelopedanddifficulttoliveinbecauseitlacks facilities,andtheprospectsofthefuturearedim.Thesewillnotbeconsideredinthispaper. 2SeetheMoroccandaily Al -IttihadAl -Ishtiraki ofFebruary12 th ,2001. 2 Thisprojecthasonemajorobjective andthreesubsidiaryones.Themain objectiveistoinvestigate,byapplyingagenderapproach,howMoroccanwomen survivewhentheirhusbands,sons,brothers,etc.migrate. Thefirstsubsidiaryobjectiveistoprovidethesocio -economicprofileof the migrantandofthewomenleftbehindinruralandurbanareasonthebasisof ananalysisoftheirsituation.Thesecondsubsidiaryobjectiveistoinvestigatethe impactofmigrationontheeducationofchildren.Thethirdsubsidiaryobjectiveis toinves tigatetheimpactofmalemigrationontheeconomyofMoroccoandsee whethertherearealternativesolutionstotheproblems,suchasfindingwaysof integratingwomenintheoveralldevelopment. This paper investigates the impact of male migration on wo men in the ruralandurbanareasofMorocco.Whenmalesmigrate,theyoftenleavebehind dependent mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, and children. These constitute a largeportionofMoroccanwomenwhichhaveattractedlittleinterestonthepart of both researchers and decision-makers. There is a total lack of statistics and follow-up so far as these women are concerned. In fact, although the issue of migrationisalwayspresentinthemainstreammedia,ithasnotbeenobjectively exploredandhence,it hasescapedcontrol(seetheMoroccandaily Al -IttihadAl - Ishtaraki of April 12, 2001). Furthermore, although the repercussions of male migrationhavebeendealtwithinmanypublications(seeselectedbibliography), these studies are in the majority of ca ses quantitative, and focus on the environmentalandsocio -economicconsequencesofmigrationtothedetrimentof its direct impact on women. It is high time such quantitative approaches were supplemented by an approach whichtargets thequalitative aspect of migration andsubstitutestheclassicquantitativeapproachwithagenderapproach. 3Thereisawidediscrepancybetweentheincomeoftheinhabitantsofthesouthernpartandthose ofthenorthernpartoftheMediterraneansea.TheincomepercapitainMoroccois19timesless thaninWesternEurope. 3 2.Theoveralltheoreticalframeworkandreviewoftheliterature Giventhenatureofthispaper,Iwilladoptamultidisciplinaryapproach wheremigration,develo pmentandgenderintermingle. 2.1.Migration Timur (2000) provides a good review of the evolution of international migration.Accordingtothemainstreamstudies(Appleyard1988,Anthias1998, Bhabha 1999, among other), migration engenders complex consequences. The literaturealsoshowsthat,althoughmigrationconcernsarelativelysmallportion oftheoverallpopulationofacountry,ithasaneverlastingimpactonthemigrant, the family left behind and the host country (Thomas1961, Hugo 1994, Cheng 1999,Timur2000).AfterWorldWarII,migrationhasgreatlyincreasedsincethe 1980sandisstillontherise(Boyle1998,Castles2000)becauseoftheeffectsof globalization.. As to the nature of migration, the review of the literature shows that, theoretically, thereare threeaspectsof the conceptof migration:(i)apointof departure, (ii) a movement, and (iii) a point of arrival. This entails that four variablesaretobetakenintoaccount:(i)geography,(ii)society,(iii)profession, and(iv)culture.Therearetwotypesofmigration:(i)internaland(ii)external.I amconcernedherewiththesecondtype. According to Kubat and Noffmann-Nowoty (1981), there are many theoriesofmigrationbuthardlyanyglobalexplicativeones.Thisis duetothe sociological nature of migration (see Duchac 1974). A review of the literature suggeststhatthereareonlypartial,mainlyclassificatory,theoriesofmigration. The latter are of intermediate scope. According to Duchac (ibid), it is more appropriate to speak of “models”, “schemas”, or “paradigms”, rather than “theories”ofmigration. Twoexplicativemodelsareprominentintheliterature: thefirstonetakesmigrationtobeamatterofindividualchoice,andthesecond 4 oneconsidersitareact iontoacollectivestimuluswhichtranscendsindividual consciousness. Ofinterestisthesocialscienceapproachtomigration(Masseyetal1987, Davis 1988, Sassen 1988, Kritz et al 1992, Faist 1997, Arango 2000). These studiesexplaininternationalmi grationinglobaltermsonthebasisofeconomy, sociologyandgeography.Theprogressthathasbeenmadeintheunderstanding of migration is largely due to empirical research which can cover better the diversityofmigrationasaconcept.. Inthisproje ct,wewillstartwithanempiricalresearchandasynthesis. Thecombinationofthetwotheoriesgivenaboveisbeneficialforanumberof reasons: first, regions are variably rich or poor, and production factors (work, capital, natural resources) are not distributed equally (Amin 1974). Natural resources (land) are stable, but work and capital are mobile as a result of the adopteddevelopmentpolicy.Giventhis,individualmotivationisimportant. On the other hand, according to the literature, migrants often neither choose to migrate nor do they choose the place where they migrate. This positivistattitudeisfoundinDurkheim(1970)andHalbwachs(1970).Kubatand Noffmann-Nowoty(1981)insistontherelationshipbetweentheindividualand the group. They differentiate between sciences of Man (soft) and sciences of nature(hard).Theformerareinperpetualmovementwhereasthelatterareinert. Withinthistheory,peoplearecontinuouslyunderthepressureofsociety,asthey constantly need to confo rm to social norms. This difficulty is seen in people’s movements, especially at periods when they depend on their family. When migrationbecomescollective,generalintimeandspace,itisbettertogobeyond theindividual,totheglobalsocialorganiza tion:amacro -sociologicalapproach (of a marxist nature). This view is more adequate for Africa in general and Moroccoinparticular(seeAmin1974,Amselle1976,Rey1976,Santos1975). 5 Whatdoesmigrationmeanfromthisperspective?Isittheresultoffailure tosocialize?Isitanattempttodefysocialconstraints?Isthisactliberatingor destroying?Isthemigrantasocialdeviant?Theansweristhatmigrationisthe most natural way of fleeing a difficult situation. This theory raises interesting questions: who migrates? does the migrant seek adventure? a better life? prestige?power?money?Theseandsimilarquestionsarerelatedtotheoverall socio -economic status of a country and, thus need to include the issue of development. 2.2.Developme nt Borgias (1989) clearly links migration to economic theory and development. As a social phenomenon, migration is historically linked to both industrialization and urbanization, that is to development. The development theoretical framework used is basica lly